Drew Brees' sandwich shop approved by starstruck New Orleans City Council

If the New Orleans Saints can't make him a deal, Drew Brees may have a fallback career option this fall: Uptown sandwich slinger. Though he was on an unfamiliar playing field -- the New Orleans City Council chamber -- No. 9 carved up the opposition like an overmatched secondary Thursday. The protests of a handful of neighbors fell on deaf ears as starstruck legislators unanimously granted Brees a permit allowing him to open a sandwich joint on Maple Street.

View full sizeMichael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees listens to opponents of his proposed restaurant during the New Orleans City Council meeting on Thursday.

Brees was seeking a conditional-use permit to open a Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches shop at 7621 Maple St.

Although the site is zoned for neighborhood businesses and several blocks of Maple already are filled with retailers, bars and restaurants, Brees needed council action because his business is designated as a fast-food restaurant by city zoning rules.

His attorney, Basile Uddo, said the business will be closer to a neighborhood sandwich shop than a typical fast-food outlet. It will be located in a renovated house with a history of commercial use. Many of its customers are expected to be Tulane and Loyola University students, and employees will deliver sandwiches to the campuses on bicycles.

Other Maple business owners endorsed Brees' proposal, but after some initial confusion, the board of the Maple Area Residents Inc. voted to oppose it. However, only three opponents showed up Thursday.

Restrictions imposed

After stipulating several conditions -- such as that dine-in service must end at 10 p.m. and that no alcohol will be served -- Councilwoman Susan Guidry, who represents the area, asked her colleagues to vote in favor of the change. They quickly followed suit.

Guidry also said the building's owner has agreed to a title restriction stipulating that the conditional-use permit will expire if Brees' business closes, meaning that another fast-food operation can't move in.

"I'm a member of the Uptown community," Brees told the council in asking for approval. "In fact, I live six blocks from the Maple Street business district. I'm very proud of that community. I'm proud to live there, and I certainly love it.

"And while I hope we have a wildly successful business on Maple Street, what is more important to me is that we become a very respectful community partner," he said.

Brees is "shooting for opening beginning of school year," the quarterback posted at his Twitter account Thursday afternoon. The Maple location will be his second Jimmy John's shop; he opened the region's first franchise -- one of 1,200 across the country -- in September in Metairie.

Opponent feels overwhelmed

In opposing the change, neighbor Kirk Groome told council members: "Maple Street is under siege."

Groome said he felt the same way, going up against one of the city's most beloved icons. "I kind of feel like St. Aug getting ready to play against LSU," he said.

Nevertheless, Groome argued that moving the proposed restaurant just a few blocks up Maple would place it more properly within a zoning district that allows fast-food outlets. He also lamented the commercial use of a home that he said was built in 1827.

Guidry, however, said she felt confident that the conditions placed on the business would prevent problems. As for the building's historic nature, she said the "delightful old home" will undergo "very slight renovation."

"I think the idea of people sitting outside on the porches is a very New Orleans thing," she said.

The City Planning Commission in April voted 4-2 in support of the conditional-use permit, but the absence of two commissioners at the meeting meant the action fell short of the five votes needed for an official commission recommendation.

'It's an honor to have you'

Not surprisingly, Brees' presence in the council chamber Thursday set off a flurry of excitement among council aides and other City Hall employees, who lined the walls to watch and snap photos with their phones.

Indeed, even before the council clerk read the details of the Maple zoning request, council President Jackie Clarkson jumped at the chance to introduce the petitioner as "the most honored quarterback in the United States of America, our very own Drew Brees."

"It's an honor to have you here, sir," she said, noting that by arriving several minutes early for the 1 p.m. hearing, Brees got to listen to a lengthy and arcane discussion of contract opportunities for disadvantaged businesses at Louis Armstrong International Airport.

"Now you see how government is run," she said.

Brees' appearance also attracted numerous TV camera crews and several sports reporters to the chamber -- or at least got them to tune into the council's live Internet feed -- but, predictably, the quarterback left the building without addressing questions about his contract talks with the Saints.